Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
by southernbelle1881
Summary: FORMERLY KNOWN AS: MERRY CHRISTMAS This takes place after Olympus is fully reconstructed and as if TLH never happened. Annabeth lives in San Francisco and is visiting Percy for Christmas. This is not an action story. It's what I think might really happen to them. Don't worry, they don't break up.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter One

I woke up to my alarm clock. This was the last day of school before Christmas break, and I couldn't have been more excited. Two whole weeks away from school. Don't get me wrong, I love the learning and don't mind the work. It's the people that bother me. I only have one friend, Carla. She had thin brown hair that was as straight as a board and striking green eyes. A complete opposite of my thick curly blonde hair and gray eyes. Everyone else are complete jerks. The jocks are constantly harassing me to go out with them, and the popular girls hate me for it. It's an interesting life.

I got dressed in jeans and a tee shirt and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning!" my step-mom said.

"Morning." I answered, getting myself some cereal. My dad was in his study and my twin half-brothers, Bobby and Matthew, were eating scrambled eggs.

"What time does your flight leave?" my step-mom asked. I was going to New York to spend Christmas with Percy and his family.

"Five-thirty. I'll have to go straight to the airport after school."

"Okay. Don't forget to say bye before you leave."

"I won't," I finished my cereal and went to finish getting ready. I brushed my hair and decided to leave it down. My teeth were brushed and I was ready to go. Down the hall I heard the twins getting ready, so I went to say goodbye. I poked my head in their room.

"Hey guys," I said.

"What are you doing in our room?" Bobby asked.

"I came to say goodbye."

"Okay. You said it. Now leave!" Matthew said. I narrowed my eyes.

"Fine then," I said and left. I was halfway down the hallway when I felt two pairs of arms wrap around my waist. I looked down to see the twins looking up at me.

"Thought so," I said as I hugged them back.

"Do you have to leave?" Matthew said.

"I'll be back," I said, ruffling their hair.

"Okay," Bobby said.

"Be good while I'm away, okay?" They laughed.

"_Right_," Matthew said. I shook my head at them as went back to their room. Next I went to my dad. He told me to be careful and all of that stuff. My step-mom just told me to have fun. I loaded my bags into the trunk of my car and drove to school.

When I got there, I spotted Carla sitting on a bench reading. I sat down next to her.

"Hey," I said. She looked up.

"Hey. I was waiting for you." She said. We went to our lockers. Mine was above hers so we walked everywhere together. The day was going great. Until lunch. Carla and I went to our usual spot in the corner. We were talking about different types of dogs when our conversation was interrupted.

"Hello, ladies," said a guy named Mike. He was the star athlete and had dated, and broken the hearts, of every cheerleader for every sport.

"Go away, Mike." I said, making it clear that I was annoyed.

"Now why would I do that?" he said, sitting down and putting an arm around me. I glared at him while removing his arm.

"Because I said so."

"Oh? And what are you going to do?" I wanted to punch him so bad. But I wasn't going to. I was determined not to get in trouble at this school.

"Look," I said, "I'm not going to hurt you, but I know someone who would gladly punch you in the face. And all I have to do is ask."

"Really? And who's that?"

"My _boyfriend_."

"Oh come on, Annabeth. No one believes that stupid story. If you really had a boyfriend, then why hasn't anyone seen him? And 'he lives in New York' isn't an excuse." He said. I pulled out my wallet and grabbed the picture of Percy that he had sent me. He was showing me how 'horrible' school pictures were, but I think he looks great in this picture. I held it up for Mike to see. His jaw dropped, probably surprised at how incredibly good looking my very real boyfriend was.

"That's probably just a friend," Mike said. I closed my eyes in frustration. Mike was about to say something else, but the bell rang, saving me from torture. The rest of the day went fine. The last class ended and everyone was talking about their plans for Christmas. It was three-thirty and my flight was in two hours.

I hugged Carla and started the thirty minute drive to the airport. I only had a little bit of homework that I could easily finish on the plane. I was going on two planes today. The first one was from here, San Francisco, to Chicago, then I got on a different plane from Chicago to New York City. New York City was three hours ahead of San Francisco, so I would be arriving very late. My first flight was three hours, my second one two hours. I would get to Chicago at ten-thirty New York time, then my second flight leaves at twelve New York time. So I should get to New York around two in the morning. I did all of this math in my head to pass the time, and it worked because I was now pulling into the airport. I parked and rolled my two large suitcases into the airport with my backpack over my shoulders. I signed in and the people checked my bags. I now had my boarding passes and a much lighter load, as my suitcases were going to be taken care of by the airline. I went to stand in the line for security. When I got to the front, I handed the officer my first boarding pass along with my driver's license for ID. Once it was checked, the officer gave me back my stuff and I went on through security. My shoes were off and my backpack was in a bin going through the thing that checked for bombs and stuff. I walked through the metal detector and put my shoes back on and grabbed my backpack. I walked through the airport until I found my gate. I sat down in a chair and pulled out my phone. Normally, I would never use my cell phone, but Chiron had told me that it would be impossible for a monster to get inside an airport with all the security.

I dialed Percy's number.

"Hey Annabeth," he answered.

"Hey. I'm through security."

"Cool. What time are you landing in New York? Should I bring you something to eat when I pick you up?"

"No. And I land in New York around two in the morning."

"Okay. I'll be there. Is it a direct flight?"

"No. I stop in Chicago."

"Call me when you land there. Are you sure it's safe for you to fly? What if Zeus decides that he's in a zappy mood?"

"Percy, he's not going to zap me out of the sky. My mom is Athena, remember? It's not safe for you because your dad is Poseidon."

"Just be careful, okay?"

"Okay."

"Don't forget to call me in Chicago. Love you. Bye."

"Love you, too." I hung up and looked at the time. It was five. I had thirty minutes to wait. I grabbed my backpack and went to the Starbucks that was across from my gate. I ordered a mocha Frappuccino and a chocolate chip cookie. When I went back to my gate, the A group was boarding. I checked my boarding pass. I was at the front of the B group. When it was my turn, I handed the guy my boarding pass and went through the tunnel to get on the plane. I found an empty row and sat by the window. I went ahead and turned my phone and iPod off. Once I was settled, I started eating my cookie. As I was watching the people boarding, I noticed a guy who looked maybe a year or two older than me staring directly at me. He caught my eye and smiled. He had light brown hair with matching eyes. I turned my head. Hopefully he would sit far away from me. But of course, I had no such luck. The aisle seat of my row was taken by a fairly large woman, and the guy with brown hair came to sit in the middle. I sighed.

"Hey," he said to me, "my name's Hunter."

"Hello, Hunter." I said without emotion. I took a sip of my Frappuccino.

"So, what's your name?"

"Annabeth,"

"Are you from here?"

"I live here, if that's what you mean." Before he could answer, the pilot came on the intercom. He said to turn off electronics. There was a shuffling as everyone on the plane did so. We started to move and the flight attendants did their safety routine. When they were done, Hunter continued to talk.

"Why are you going to Chicago?"

"I'm not."

"Where are you going?"

"New York."

"Why?"

"To visit my boyfriend." That shut him up.

"I'm sorry." He said after a few minutes.

"For what?"

"I didn't know you were in a relationship." I smiled.

"It's fine." The pilot said we could turn electronics on now. I got out my homework and started working.

"You said you live in San Francisco, but that's not where you're from. Where are you from?" Hunter said. I looked up from my math.

"New York," I answered. I went back to my homework. There were only four more problems in math. I quickly finished and got to work on English. I finished that just as fast, and I was done with all of my homework about an hour before we land in Chicago.

"How did you meet your boyfriend?" asked Hunter.

"At camp when we were twelve."

"How old are you now?"

"Seventeen. We've known each other for around five years. But this is only our second year dating. The first three we were best friends."

"If you live on different side of the country, how does it work?" I smiled.

"We're good like that." We were silent for the rest of the flight. When we landed, I walked to my next gate. Once I sat down and got situated, I called Percy.

"Hey, are you in Chicago?" he answered.

"Yeah. My next plane doesn't leave for an hour and a half though."

"Okay. I'll be at baggage claim at two."

"Okay, I love you. See you then."

"Love you too. Bye." We hung up. I got out my book and started to read. I was so into the story, I didn't notice when someone sat next to me. They tapped my shoulder. I looked up to see a guy with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes looking down at me.

"What's a beautiful girl like you doing all alone in an airport?"

"Waiting for my plane." I said coldly.

"Maybe I should accompany you."

"No thank you." He smiled and put his arm around me.

"Come on." I shook his arm away.

"Don't touch me. I have a boyfriend."

"So? I don't care." Luckily, at that moment they started boarding my plane. This time I was in the A group. I glared at the guy and went to my place in line. I handed the person my boarding pass and went on the plane. I again sat by the window. I didn't pay attention while people were getting on the plane. A lady sat next to me. She had a little boy with her who looked to be around three. The pilot made all of the anouncements and soon we were in the air. I read for the flight while most of the people on the plane slept. When we got to New York, everyone was waking up and looking out the windows at the lights. It was a splendid view. It was kind of funny looking at all of the tourists' faces as they looked at the city. We landed around two-fifteen. I got off the plane and walked towards baggage claim. As soon as I entered the big room, I started looking for Percy. Our eyes met, and a smile spread over my face, as did his. I ran towards him, full speed, ignoring all of the stares. He held his arms open and I ran into them. He hugged me tightly and I hugged him back.

"I missed you," he said, "a lot." I looked up at him.

"I missed you too." A single tear had escaped my eye, and he wiped it away with his thumb. Percy leaned down and kissed me. It was short and sweet. We walked over to the thing that had all of the bags and waited for mine to come around. We spotted them and Percy grabbed them. He rolled them to the car for me, and we drove to his apartment. We had to be quiet coming in because Sally and Paul were asleep. We brought my bags into Percy's room and changed into PJs. Percy crawled into his bed and I got in next to him. He wrapped his arms around me, and I fell asleep with my head on his chest.

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Two

I woke up the next morning to someone knocking. Percy groaned. His arms were still wrapped around me protectively and my head remained on his chest. The knocking continued and Sally poked her head in the door. She smiled at us.

"Good morning!" She said, "It's great to see you, Annabeth,"

"You too, Sally," I said sleepily.

"I'll let you two get up. But hurry. The pancakes are almost done,"

"Pancakes!" Percy said, sounding very excited. I laughed while Sally nodded and smiled at her son.

"And someone is here to see both of you! She'll be staying for the holidays," Sally closed the door.

"Who's here?" I asked Percy. I felt him shrug. We got out of bed and I went into the bathroom to change. I wore jeans and a tee shirt, but I put on a sweatshirt to keep warm. I went back into Percy's room to see that he had fallen back asleep on the bed.

"Percy!" I said, shaking his shoulders, "Get up!"

"I don't wanna," he complained.

"Get up," I said again, "or you won't get any pancakes." He shot out of bed. He was dressed before I even realized what was happening.

"Let's get breakfast!" he said. I laughed lightly and walked out of the room with Percy on my heels. We walked into the kitchen to see Paul sitting at the table reading the newspaper. Sally was cooking, and also at the table was a girl with dark spiky hair and electric blue eyes.

"Thalia!" I said. I ran to give her a hug, which she returned. Next she gave Percy a hug.

"Why are you here?" Percy asked.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" she answered skeptically.

"No I am! It's just, what about Artemis?"

"Yeah," I said, "aren't you supposed to be with the Hunt?"

"Artemis gave me a couple of weeks off since I have forever with her, but not forever with you guys,"

"That's a little depressing," Percy said.

"Well it's true," Thalia countered. I rolled my eyes at them.

"Who's hungry?" Sally said, holding a huge plate piled with blue pancakes. We sat at the table and started engulfing the food.

"Save some for Nico!" Sally chided. We all looked at her.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Nico's coming! He should be here any time now. Also Connor and Travis Stoll are coming tomorrow! Won't that be fun? This is going to be the best Christmas ever!" Sally said with a squeal of excitement. We continued to eat and soon the door opened. Nico walked into the kitchen holding a big duffle bag.

"You know, Nico," Paul said, "We have this wonderful thing called a doorbell." Nico smiled.

"That's not as fun though!" he said.

"Nico, sweetie, you can put your bags in Percy's room." Sally said. He put his stuff away and joined us at the table. That's when I realized how much I missed my camp friends. I was glad Nico and Thalia were here and that the Stolls were coming tomorrow.

"Hey guys. It's been awhile, huh?" Nico said.

"Yeah, how've you been, little cuz?" Percy said.

"We aren't technically cousins," Nico grumbled.

"I don't know…" Thalia chimed in, "I think you, me, and Percy count. I mean, our dads are direct brothers. We have the same grandparents." She put a bite of pancake into her mouth.

"I agree," I said. Paul was staring at us like we were crazy.

"Are you really discussing whether or not you're cousins?" he asked. We all laughed.

"I'm full," Thalia announced. I agreed and we went into the living room, soon to be followed by Nico and Percy.

"I don't know about you guys," I said, "but I need to do some shopping."

"I do too," Thalia said. Nico and Percy looked at each other and nodded.

"How about we give you our money and you can do all the picking out presents for us?" Nico said with a weak smile.

"Or," I said, "you could both come with us." They groaned.

"It's not that bad," Thalia said. We dragged them into the cab. I sat between Percy and Thalia in the back while Nico sat in the shotgun seat. The driver was a scary looking guy with lots of tattoos and jewelry. We told him where to go.

"Guys," Nico whispered back to us, trying not to get the attention of the cab driver.

"What?" Thalia said. The driver looked over at Nico and he yelped.

"Don't you think it's a little wrong to put the youngest person next to the scary driver?" Nico whispered to us. I laughed at him.

"Nico," Percy said, "after everything you've done and you're afraid of a cabbie?" Nico looked over at the driver and nodded. Percy laughed and Thalia and I joined him.

"You guys are mean," Nico said, turning back around.

"We're here," the driver said in a gruff voice. We were in front of the Macy's department store. We all got out of the car and went into the store.

"Okay," Thalia, "we're going to split up. Annabeth and I will go together and Percy and Nico can stick together. Keep your eyes open for monsters and be careful. We'll check in right here in two hours and if we need more time we can split up again after we check in. Good?" Percy laughed.

"Someone's used to being in charge," he said.

"I am in charge of the hunters aside from Lady Artemis," Thalia defended herself.

"Whatever," Percy said. We went our separate ways. I had to buy gifts for Thalia, Nico, Sally, Paul, Travis, Connor, and, of course, Percy. Thalia and I went to the home section of the store.

"What should I get for Sally?" Thalia asked me.

"I don't know. But I know what I'm getting her." I smiled at her while she glared at me.

"That is not fair," Thalia complained. I went over to the blenders. Sally was always saying how she needed a new one. Thalia was right behind me. She saw the blenders.

"Annabeth you're a genius," she said. She had heard Sally talk about her blender issues just as much as I had.

"I know," I said. I picked out a blender and went to the register while Thalia looked at some stuff. She seemed to find something and walked over to me with it. There were still a couple of people in front of us.

"What's that?" I asked Thalia.

"It's a cook book," she said, proudly showing it to me, "see everything is in here. They have cookies and spaghetti and cake and all sorts of things,"

"Cool. Sally will love it," I said as we reached the cashier. We checked out and moved on. I saw some amazing slippers that supported your whole body weight while being insanely comfortable. I got them for Paul. For Nico I got a Wii. Thalia and I coordinated. She got him a bunch of games. He had told me that there was never anything to watch in the Underworld. For Thalia I got a camera. She was always talking about how she wanted one to take pictures of her adventures with the Hunters to show us. For Connor I got a new iPod since his broke the last time we were at camp. He dropped it in the canoe lake. Travis got a hundred dollars in iTunes gift cards and a whole bunch of M&Ms, his absolute favorite candy. I saved the best for last: Percy. I honestly didn't know what to get him. I found a photo album that was pretty thick, but I could easily fill it with pictures of Percy and me. On the front it said 'Forever' in fancy letters. I flipped through it. Lots of the places for pictures had hearts around them. In some places it said things like 'I love you'. But at the same time it wasn't girly. There wasn't one drop of pink on the entire thing. It was mainly a grey-blue color with some grey and some blue. I purchased the item and saw Thalia still fiddling with some robot looking thing. She bought it and we started to head back to meet up with Percy and Nico.

"Who's the robot for?" I asked Thalia.

"Travis," she answered. I laughed. I could imagine Travis running around camp with his new toy robot.

"He'll love that," I said. You may be wondering how we can afford all of these expensive toys. Our godly parents are very rich and they give us all money during the holidays to shop for gifts. The money also counts as our 'present'. When we got to the meeting spot, the boys weren't there yet. They still had about thirty minutes. We found a bench and sat down. I noticed a couple of guys coming towards us. One had red-brown hair and the other was dirty-blonde.

"Thalia," I said.

"What?" she answered.

"Do you see those guys?" I gestured to where they were coming from.

"Do you know them?" she asked me. I shook my head no. They approached us.

"Hey," the red head said.

"What do you want?" Thalia spat.

"Feisty," the blonde said, smiling.

"Excuse me?" Thalia said.

"Look," the blonde said, completely ignoring Thalia's comment, "How would you two like to catch a movie or something?"

"No thanks," I said. I tried to get up, but they completely blocked either of our chances of getting away.

"Come on, ladies," the red head said, "no need to play hard-to-get."

"I'm flattered," I said sarcastically, "but I have a boyfriend."

"And," Thalia said, "I am an eternal maiden," the guys laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said the blonde. Thalia narrowed her eyes.

"It means," she said, getting angry, "no boys,"

"We're not boys," the red head said, "We're men." I laughed.

"If you were 'men' you would understand the word no," I said.

"We know you're lying about this boyfriend thing," the blonde said to me, "And I don't think eternal maidens exist," he said to Thalia, "So just come with us." I clenched my jaw. Thalia was about to lunge at the guy, but I held her back. We didn't need to hurt a mortal.

"I _do_ have a boyfriend and she _is_ a maiden." I said through clenched teeth.

"Just come on," the red head said. He grabbed my wrist and the blonde grabbed Thalia.

"What do you think you're doing?" Thalia screeched. She tried to pull away, as did I, but these guy were strong. I caught a glimpse of dark, messy hair by the door to the department store.

"PERCY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The red head tightened his grip, and it hurt, really badly.

"Shut up," he said. The department store was out of sight now. We were being pulled down the New York sidewalk. We surprisingly still had all of our purchases. Thalia and I held our free hands, just to remind ourselves that the other was still there. They pulled us into an alley.

"Now," said the blonde. He was going to say something else when someone behind us cleared their throat. Our kidnappers turned around, taking us with them. Percy and Nico were standing, looking as deadly as ever.

"I suggest you let go of my girlfriend and my cousin," Percy said, his voice dangerously low.

"I suggest you go away," said the red head. They obviously did not know who they were dealing with. My grip on Thalia's hand tightened, and she did the same.

"Let them go," Nico sounded just as dangerous as Percy. I guess two scary sounding teenagers did it for them. The kidnappers dropped our wrists and ran. Thalia and I were frozen in our place. Percy enveloped me in a tight hug. Next he gave Thalia a small hug. Nico hugged us both as well. Percy hugged me again.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

"I'm fine," I said. It was partially a lie. My wrist hurt really badly, but I didn't want to worry him.

"May I see your wrist?" he asked. I shook my head, but he grabbed my hand gently anyway. His eyes widened.

"Thalia," he said.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Come here,"

"_Please_," she said, but she came over anyway. Percy took her hand and held my wrist up to hers. Nico was looking over Percy's shoulder.

"Oh my gods…" he muttered. Both of our wrists were swollen and bruised. They looked terrible.

"Guys, we're fine," Thalia said pulling her hand away.

"Let's go home," Nico suggested. We all agreed and hailed a cab. We put our shopping stuff in the trunk and sat the same way as before. When we got to Percy's apartment, he and Nico carried all of Thalia and my stuff for us.

"No peeking in those bags," I said.

"We'll try!" Nico called over his shoulder. They went into the building leaving Thalia and me on the sidewalk.

"Well that was fun," she said sarcastically.

"Yep," I answered. We went into the apartment building. We went up the elevator and found the right door, which had been left wide open. Thalia shut it loudly behind us.

"You don't leave the door open!" she called into the apartment. The boys didn't seem to care. I looked at the clock. It was around one-thirty. We missed lunch, but I wasn't really hungry anyway. We went into the living room to find the boys watching some reality show. I sat down on the couch next to Percy and he wrapped his arms around me. Thalia sat next to us on the couch and Nico sat in the recliner.

"Where are Paul and Sally?" I asked, just noticing their absence.

"There was a note when we came up. They're out getting lunch and shopping. They probably won't be home until dinner."

"What should we do?" Nico asked, rocking back and forth in the chair, "Let's play a game." He said before any of us could answer.

"What game?" I asked.

"I think we should play Life!" Nico said, very enthusiastically.

"Okay," Percy said. He untangled himself from me and got up to get the game.

"Thalia, you playing?" he asked.

"Sure. Why not?" she answered.

"That's the spirit!" Percy brought the game into the living room. We set it up on the floor and sat in a circle around the board.

"I call first!" Nico yelled.

"No!" I protested, "You spin to see who goes first." Nico stuck his tongue out at me. Thalia ended up going first, then me, then Percy, and Nico was last. We played for a while. I ended up winning, which didn't surprise me because I have the perfect strategy for this game. For dinner we had lasagna. It was delicious. We were all tired, so we went to bed early. Thalia and I shared the guest bed while Percy and Nico shared his bed. The Stolls are going to have to sleep on an air mattress when they get here. It was a very peaceful sleep.

**How is it? Please tell me if you have any ideas for the story! Are the chapters too long? Too short? Please help me by reviewing! Sorry if you wanted the game to be truth or dare. I just think that is way overdone. I wanted something different. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**I would like to thank **_**Percabeth431**_** for giving me an idea for this chapter!**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Three

I woke up around eight-thirty. I looked over to see a snoring Thalia. I shook her.

"Thalia, get up," I said. She groaned and turned over, hugging the covers. I shook her harder.

"Get up!" I said a bit louder. She completely ignored me. "Just know that you forced me to do this," I said. I pulled the comforter off of the bed. Then the thick blanket, and finally the sheet. Thalia just curled into a ball, hugging herself to keep warm. I grabbed her feet and pulled her off the bed. She hit the floor with a thud.

"ANNABETH!" she screamed. It must have been pretty loud, because Sally burst through the door.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Well," Thalia started, "Annabeth over here is being a big butt."

"I think there is a better word than butt," Sally mothered.

"'Annabeth is being a big toushy,' doesn't sound as good," Thalia complained. Sally chuckled.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" I protested.

"You pulled me off of the bed!" Thalia argued.

"Because you wouldn't get up!"

"It's not my fault that you get up at the crack of dawn!"

"It's almost nine! Plus you're a hunter; you should be used to getting up early!" Thalia was about to shoot back but Sally spoke first.

"Come on, you two. Let's get some breakfast." We followed her into the kitchen. There was a large plate filled with bacon, and another one filled with eggs. We helped ourselves and sat down at the table. Thalia was telling me about when the Hunters were hit on by a big gang, and how they kicked their butts, when Percy and Nico walked in. They were arguing over something, but I couldn't tell what. They got their food and sat at the table with us.

"Morning," Nico said.

"What does everyone want to do today?" I asked.

"I think we should throw water balloons at random men," Thalia suggested. We all stared at her like she was from another planet. "What?" she said, "Don't look at me like that…"

"We're not doing that," Percy said.

"Why?"

"Because," I said, "if we threw water balloons at people, in the middle of _winter_, we'd probably end up in jail." Thalia huffed.

"No one else has any better ideas," she grumbled.

"I do!" Nico said.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Movie marathon!"

"It's not a _bad_ idea…" I said.

"I like mine better." Thalia said.

"Movie marathon it is!" Percy announced. After much arguing, we decided to watch _The Santa Clause, The Santa Clause Two, _and _The Santa Clause Three_. By the time those were all over, the Stolls should be here and they could help us pick the next ones. Sally and Paul went over to the neighbor's apartment for the day, so we had the place to ourselves. We were still wearing our PJs and were halfway through the second movie when the front door burst open. We heard growls the then voice of Connor Stoll.

"Hell hounds!" he screamed. We all grabbed our weapons and rushed to help. It looked like the brothers almost had it under control. Almost. There were three _huge_ Hell hounds. Travis and Connor were back-to-back and each was taking on one of the monsters. The third was looking for an opertunity to enter the fight.

"I got it," Thalia said. She notched an arrow and shot the third one right in the eye. It dissolved into dust. Travis had killed his monster as well. One more. I wanted to help, but I really didn't need to. Connor sliced through the neck of the last hound and it dissolved.

"Well," said Travis, "that was fun." We all laughed. The brothers joined us with our movie watching. Sally let us order pizza for dinner and she and Paul went to bed early. We followed our example and did the same. Little did I know, it was going to be an interesting night…

**Sorry the chapter is so short…oh well.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Four

Thalia and I were knocked out. Or at least we were. Now we were yelling at the Stolls. It was two-thirty in the morning. Why were we doing this while we should be sleeping peacefully? Because Connor and Travis thought it would be funny to put whipped cream in our hair and jelly down our shirts and peanut butter in our armpits. Not funny. At all.

"Why do you have to be so…_boyish_?" Thalia yelled at them. I don't think they got the message, as they were standing there laughing their heads off.

"You two are so insanely stupid!" I said, "Why would you do this?"

"It's pretty obvious!" Travis said.

"Yeah," Connor chimed in, "it's hilarious!" I think we were being loud, because at that moment, Nico walked into Thalia and my room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked. Then he saw us and started laughing.

"Told you it's funny!" Connor said as they all laughed. Then Percy walked in, and Thalia and I were standing there being laughed at by four idiots.

"Just get out of our room!" Thalia screamed. They didn't move.

"Get out!" I tried. Still, they were laughing at us.

"OUT!" Thalia and I screamed. They stopped laughing and looked at us.

"Fine," Nico said.

"Don't get your panties in a twist," Travis mumbled as he left the room.

"Ugh!" I grunted as I shut the door.

"Now we have to shower at two-thirty in the morning," Thalia complained.

"It's actually closer to three now," I said. We decided to shower together to save time. Now, before you say 'disgusting you two are sick' or anything like it, Thalia and I are practically sisters. It's no big deal, it's not like we're 'looking' at each other or anything, and you have a sick mind if you think we would. After we were clean, we went back to sleep for a few hours only to be woken up by Sally at six. She knocked on our door.

"Up, up, up!" She said excitedly. We didn't respond, thinking she might go away. But then she opened the door.

"Get up." She said sternly. Thalia threw a pillow in her general direction. "Thalia Grace! Did you just throw a pillow at me?"

"No?" Thalia tried.

"Get up. Now." Sally left the room. Thalia and I got up and joined the boys in the living room, still in our pajamas.

"Would you kids like to know why I have you up?" Sally asked.

"Sure," Connor said unenthusiastically.

"Where's Paul?" Percy asked.

"Sleeping. Don't worry, I'll get him up in a bit. You are all up right now because there are two days until Christmas Eve!" Sally said with a clap of her hands. We were all confused, except for Percy.

"Do we have to do this, mom?" Percy asked.

"Yes. Today we spend all day decorating! Why don't you want to decorate Percy?"

"It's too much work."

"Well you'll just have to get over it. Now the first thing we need is our tree. I want Thalia and Annabeth to go get the tree-"

"Why do they get to pick out the tree?" Travis exclaimed.

"Because they're girls. Girls pick out the best trees," Sally said.

"That is so not fair." Connor said.

"What do we big strong boys get to do?" Nico asked.

"You don't want to know," said Percy.

"I want you boys to go grocery shopping," Sally said. Thalia and I started to laugh, earning us four evil glares. "I have a list," Sally continued, "and no stealing." She said looking at the Stolls. Sally gave Thalia and me money for the tree and the keys to the Prius and sent us off while explaining to the boys how to know the best eggs to get and what apples are the freshest.

"Payback," Thalia said as we exited the apartment.

"Yep," I answered, "who's driving?"

"You are," Thalia answered. We drove to a Christmas tree lot and started looking. After about half an hour, we found the perfect tree. We paid and the guy strapped it to the hood of our car. He looked about our age.

"Merry Christmas," he said.

"Thanks," I said.

"You too." Thalia also said.

"Um, are either of you single?" he asked.

"I am," Thalia said, "but I'm an eternal maiden. And she has a boyfriend." I smiled and got in the car. We drove back to the apartment and went up to tell Sally about the tree. When we walked in, she was in the kitchen getting out ingredients and Paul was in the living room watching sports center.

"Hey, Sally we got the tree." I said.

"Oh! Go ask Paul to help you get it in here."

"Okay," we went over to Paul.

"Hey, Paul," Thalia said, "we need help bringing the tree in."

"Absolutely," he got up and followed us to the car. "That's a good one girls," he said as he unstrapped it.

"Thanks," we said. We helped him carry it inside. We propped it up in a corner in the living room where it could be seen from outside and enjoyed from in here.

"Perfect!" Sally squealed, "Now I give you two the most important job." She went into a closet and pulled out four big plastic boxes. "These are the ornaments. Can you two decorate the tree?"

"Sure!" we said. Thalia and I went to work. About an hour later, we were halfway done and the boys came in. They each held about three grocery sacks. They gave them to Sally and came into the living room.

"They get to decorate it too!" Nico practically screamed. Sally chuckled.

"Yes. Now I need you boy to get out the nativity scene and set it up right here," Sally showed them a spot that was in good view from everywhere in the room. They set to work as Thalia and I finished the tree. By noon we were all done with our jobs. Or so we thought.

"Now it's time for lunch then I have more jobs," Sally said. She gave us each PB&Js, though Thalia and I were hesitant to eat ours after last night…but we ate them anyways.

"Good you're all done," Sally said.

"What else do you want us to do?" Thalia asked.

"You'd be surprised." Percy said.

"I want the girls to go to the store and buy stockings for everyone except for Percy, Paul, and me. Have them monogramed with names and I'll give you Percy's stocking to have something to match everything with. I want them to match perfectly, okay?" Sally gave us information.

"We'll do," I said.

"And boys," Sally turned to them, "you need to get five more stocking hangers that match the others and get a poinsettia for each of the flower boxes and two big pots of them. IM me to show me the flowers before you buy them."

"Shouldn't the girls get the flowers?" Percy asked.

"No." Sally gave us all money and the things we needed and sent us out. I help Percy's stocking and Thalia and I walked to the fabric store. The boys got the car since they were buying pots of things.

"May I help you?" a lady asked us.

"Um, yes," I said, "we need five stockings that look exactly like this, except for different names." The lady took Percy's stocking.

"Okay. What names do you need?"

"Okay," Thalia said as the girl got a pen and piece of paper, "Thalia t-h-a-l-i-a, Annabeth a-n-n-a-b-e-t-h, Nico n-i-c-o. Travis t-r-a-v-i-s, and Connor c-o-n-n-o-r."

"Okay. They'll be ready in about two hours." The lady told us. Thalia and I decided to go to Central Park and have some girl time. We sat on a bench and sipped hot chocolate.

"So how's the Hunt?" I asked.

"It's great, Annabeth. I absolutely love it. Lady Artemis is amazing. But I miss camp."

"Yeah. We miss you too, Thalia."

"How does Olympus look? I haven't been there since it was finished."

"Wonderful! The throne room is beautiful and all of the gods love all the statues and temples." We talked for another hour and a half, then we decided we should go back to the shop. When we got there, we waited in the sitting area for a few minutes because we were early. The lady came out with our stuff.

"Here you go, ladies." She said. We paid and thanked her then went back to the apartment. The boys were there first, but that wasn't surprising. It didn't take as long to buy flowers and stocking hangers as it did to have five stockings mad and monogramed.

"Let me see the stockings!" Sally said. We showed her and she loved them. She told us to hang them up with the other ones. We put them all up on the fireplace and noticed that the two pots of poinsettias were placed on either side of the fireplace. The apartment now looked very festive. It was about three so we all watched TV with Paul until dinner. For dinner, Sally made baked potatoes and corn. It was delicious. We stayed up watching Christmas movies until midnight, then Sally and Paul made us go to bed. We slept well that night.

**Please review! It makes me the happiest person ever when I get reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Five

I slept until noon when I was woken up by Thalia smacking a pillow on my face.

"Wake up. We're going ice skating." I opened my eyes.

"Who's we?" I asked.

"Everyone except for Sally and Paul." I got up and dressed in skinny jeans with tights underneath, just for warmth. You couldn't see them. Then I put on a tank top, then a long-sleeved tee shirt, then a thick sweat shirt. I just wore tennis shoes (with socks of course) on my feet because we would be wearing ice skates anyway. It turns out I was the last one ready. I quickly ate breakfast then we all walked to the rink. We got out skates and went on the ice. Percy and I held hands as we skated around.

"I haven't seen much of you," I said.

"I know. I miss you." I laughed.

"How can you miss me?"

"Wow. I thought you were smarter than that." He answered sarcastically. We skated in silence for a few minutes.

"You know," Percy spoke, "it's been a while since I kissed you." I chuckled.

"That's your fault." Then he stopped. We were holding hands, so I stopped with him. He smiled down at me and we looked into each other's eyes.

"I miss you too, Seaweed Brain." I said. Then he kissed me. We could have stayed lie that forever, but Nico ruined it.

"Too bad we don't have a lake to throw you in." he said. Then the Stolls appeared behind him.

"Aw, Nico," Travis said, "you ruined it!"

"Yeah," Connor agreed, "we almost got a picture!" That's when Percy started to chase them. They skated for their lives.

"What happened?" I jumped. Thalia stood next to me.

"Nico interrupted us." I said. Thalia laughed. The day was fun. And tomorrow was Christmas Eve. When we got back to the apartment, it was time for dinner. Sally let us order pizza. We ate in the living room while watching _Elf_. When I was done eating, I snuggled next to Percy. He put his arms around me and I rested my head on his chest.

"I've always wanted to put maple syrup on spaghetti ever since I saw this movie, Percy stated. Sally must have heard from the kitchen where she and Paul were eating leftovers, because she practically screamed "no!"

We all laughed. Nico was the first to fall asleep. Then Sally and Paul went to bed, and we decided that we would all camp out in the living room. When _Elf_ was over, we put in _Christmas With the Kranks_. Travis and Thalia fell asleep around the middle of it, and Connor, Percy, and I were the last ones up.

"What do you want to watch now?" Connor asked when it was over.

"How about _Frosty the Snowman_?" Percy suggested. We agreed and Connor put it in. Soon after it started, I fell asleep in Percy's arms.

**I know its short, but this is the second chapter in, like, fourish hours! So get over it. Sorry if that was harsh…not trying to be. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Six

I woke up when I saw a flash behind my eyelids. I opened my eyes, along with Percy, Thalia, and Travis, to see Sally holding a camera.

"Mom!" Percy said.

"What? You all just looked so cute!" Sally said, "I'll be making breakfast! Wake up Nico and Connor." She went into the kitchen. I tried to get up, but Percy's arms were still around me.

"Oh, sorry," he said, releasing his grip.

"It's fine," I said as I sat up.

"Hey guess what?" Travis asked.

"What?" Thalia said.

"It's Christmas Eve!" he said with excitement.

"Really?" Thalia asked, her voice soaked in sarcasm, "I had _no_ idea." Travis glared at her. We woke Nico and Connor.

"What time is it?" Connor asked groggily. I looked at the clock.

"Tenish," I answered. We went into the kitchen for breakfast. Sally made us eggs and she had out an assortment of cereals. We all help ourselves and sat at the table. A few minutes later, Paul walked in the room and joined us.

"We need to get some presents under that tree!" he said.

"Oh yeah!" Travis said. "I haven't wrapped anything yet."

"No one has," Thalia stated.

"Well," Sally said sitting at the table, "you can all do that today while Paul and I go sightseeing."

"But you live here," Nico said, referring to the 'sightseeing'.

"Well we never get to do tourist things. And I've already wrapped all of my things. So we're going out while you all wrap."

When we were done eating, Sally gave us a bunch of wrapping paper, bows, ribbon, tape, scissors, bags, tissue paper, nametags, and anything else we might possibly need. She and Paul left. We put in _Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer_ and went to work. I had already filled the photo album for Percy with pictures, so I wrapped that first. Percy was on the other side of the room, so he wouldn't be able to see it. I put the nametag on it and put it under the tree. I wasn't the first one done. There was a box that was poorly wrapped already there. I couldn't resist, I looked at the nametag.

_To: Thalia From: Connor_

Connor had really bad handwriting. We all finished wrapping in a couple of hours, and the tree was completely overflowing. We all relaxed for the rest of the day. When Paul and Sally came back, Sally put her and Paul's presents under the tree, making it even more overcrowded. We went to bed pretty early, anxious for Christmas to be here.

**Please don't be mad at how short it is…there's just not much the can do… The next chapter is Christmas Day! Yay! Time for presents…**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Seven

I woke up around nine. Thalia was still sleeping, so I decided to wake her up.

"Wake up," I said.

"I don't wanna," she mumbled.

"Remember last time. I don't want to pull you out of bed on Christmas…" I threatened. She shot up.

"I'm awake!" We went into the kitchen. Connor was the only other person up.

"Morning." He said.

"Morning." We said back.

"I can't wait to open presents!" Connor said with excitement.

"You sound like a six-year-old." I commented. A few minutes later, Sally walked in.

"Look at the early birds," she said.

"Good morning Sally," Thalia said.

"Should I make the pancakes in the shape of trees or snowmen?" Sally wondered aloud.

"Snowmen," I said.

"Are you crazy?" Thalia protested, "Obviously trees." Sally chuckled.

"Connor?" she asked. He looked from me to Thalia. We were both glaring at him, hard.

"I think you should choose," he told Sally. She laughed.

"I think I'll do reindeer." And she did just that. Nico and Percy were the next ones in, shortly followed by Paul.

"I'm going to make some bacon." Paul announced.

"Yes!" Nico practically screamed. We all looked at him.

"Someone likes bacon…" I mumbled. Paul started cooking with Sally, and soon the delicious smell of pancakes and bacon filled the apartment. That's when Travis walked in. he had a goofy smile on his face, and he looked like he was in some sort of trance.

"Bacon," he said, "I smell bacon."

"Yes Travis," Thalia said, like she was talking to a three-year-old, "That's because you have a nose." We laughed as Travis snapped out of his trance.

"Okay kids! Everything is ready!" Sally announced. We all got our food and ate the wonderfulness. When we were done, Sally said it was time to open presents. We all went into the living room and turned on Christmas music. The Stolls lunged at the presents.

"STOP!" Sally yelled at them. They looked like a toddler caught sneaking a cookie before dinner. "We are going to do this in an orderly fashion. Thalia goes first, then Annabeth, Nico, Travis, Connor, Percy, Paul, me. Okay?" We all nodded. "Go ahead Thalia."

Thalia grabbed the first package with her name on it.

"It's from Percy," she announced. She unwrapped a coffee mug that had lightning all over it.

"See," said Percy, "now when you're drinking coffee with the Hunters, you can have a special cup." Thalia nodded.

"Thanks. You're so thoughtful," Now it was my turn. I unwrapped my present from Thalia. It was an owl bookmark.

After a couple of hours, we were done with presents. I got the bookmark, a book about monuments, a large notebook for blueprints, a tee shirt that said 'I'm smarter than you' on the front, a charm bracelet with cute monster charms, a cell phone case with an owl on it, and from Percy a book that was titled _Why I Love You_. Everyone liked everything they got and it was lots of fun. One of the best Christmases ever.

**Why are my chapters all turning short! This isn't the end. Probably two more chapters… I'm trying to finish it today! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Eight

The days until New Year's were kind of boring. We just sat in the apartment and watched movies. And played with Travis's robot. That was fun. Today was New Year's Eve, and you could look out the window and see the tourists gaping at the ball. It had been up for a while, changing colors and looking cool. Travis, Connor, Nico, Thalia, Percy, and I were going to go watch it drop in the big crowds. Sally and Paul didn't want to be in the middle of all that.

We were eating spaghetti for dinner. Sally let us put maple syrup on it like they did in _Elf_, after much begging by Percy. We finished and bundled up. Once everyone was ready, we headed out to Times Square. We didn't want to waste any time getting there because the crowds would only get worse. It was so crowded already, that we all had to hold hands on the way there to avoid losing someone. Thalia was on the end as she refused to hold a guy's hand, I was next to her, then Percy, Nico, Travis, Connor. I wonder what we looked like to passing bystanders. Six teenagers walking through New York City holding hands… We stopped in Starbucks and each got the biggest size they had in hot chocolate. Once we got in our spot, we weren't moving.

We proceeded to Times Square and got there around nine. We were in the middleish of all the people. Finally, it was midnight and the ball dropped. Everyone cheered, and it was _loud_. Percy leaned down and kissed me. A New Year's kiss. We all went back to the apartment. It was harder getting back then it was getting her. Partly because of the increase of people, and also because now a lot of those people were drunk. When we got home, we all fell asleep quickly.

**Okay, one more chapter. If you have any stories that you would like me to write, please tell me and I would be happy to write them! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**Last chapter!**

Annabeth's POV

Chapter Nine

"Bye," Percy told me. I smiled and started to head towards airport security. Time to go back to San Francisco. I was about to go into security when someone yelled my name. I turned around and saw Percy running towards me. He pushed people out of the way and didn't stop running until he was right next to me.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked him.

"I forgot to tell you I love you," he answered. I smiled and gave him a hug.

"I love you too," I said into his chest.

"Yeah, yeah," someone in the line said, "very cute, but some of us have places to go!" I chuckled. As Percy exited the line.

"I miss you already," he called. I blew him a kiss and went into security. My flights were boring and uneventful. Well, a couple of guys hit on me, but other than that uneventful. My dad, step-mom, and brothers were there to pick me up.

"How was it?" my step-mom asked.

"Fun. Thalia, Nico, Connor, and Travis came too." We got in the car and headed home. Maybe I'll get to do this next year too…

**So that's it. I would like to thank anyone who reviewed, subscribed, or favorite. Your support means so much to me. I invite you to read my other stories as well! Thanks again to all of you! :) :) :)**


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